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Category: Blog

How international students can “jump the queue” to PR faster

Posted on by Awdhesh Kumar

Jennifer got her PR three years faster than John. How did Jennifer do it when they both arrived in Canada the same year and are the same age with the same language ability of CLB 8?

Jennifer worked with an immigration consultant and got a consultation before she left her home country. She was given a plan of action to follow and learned how to maximize eligibility and points in the Express Entry system.

Both individuals arrived in Canada at 19 years old, and both took the same Bachelors of Social Work program. But Jennifer did something different. She enrolled in the 5-year program that had paid co-op terms every year. There, while studying her program, she was simultaneously developing a network of employer contacts and connections. She spent time networking also with her co-workers and looked at each co-op work term as an opportunity to expand her network even further. While co-op work experience during studies doesn’t count for points in Express Entry, it enabled Jennifer to build her career network and maximize her connections.

Upon graduation, she was offered a skilled permanent full-time job as a Social Worker, allowing her to waste no time in accumulating skilled work experience in Canada. As Jennifer’s program was more than two years in duration, she qualifies for a 3 year Post Graduate Work Permit. Jennifer is on her way to qualifying for the Canadian Experience Class draw or the Health and Social Sciences category specific draws in Express Entry. By focusing on one occupation in high demand, Jennifer has also simultaneously increased her chances for permanent residency, ensuring that her career plan matches Canada’s current occupational priorities.

Jennifer worked on her English while studying and managed to re-take her English test and scored CLB 10 from an original CLB 8 prior to arrival.

Jennnifer also did something unique. She scored high in the Skilled Transferability section of Express Entry by working remotely during her studies as a community counselor. She accumulated 1 year of foreign skilled work experience which, combined with her language score, gave her additional points in the Comprehensive Ranking System. Remote work outside Canada during studies counts potentially as skilled foreign work in Express Entry. There are many remote opportunities these days for students to work part time during their studies and accumulate skilled work that counts for points in the CRS.

Fourteen months after graduation, Jennifer was invited to apply for permanent residency under the Canadian Experience Class with a score of 512 in the CRS. John still doesn’t have a plan and still hasn’t accumulated any skilled work experience since his graduation. He took a retail sales position with a shoe company to pay rent.

Example scoring for Jennifer –  

Core/Human capital factors

  • Age = 110
  • Level of education = 120
  • Official Languages = 136
    • First Official Language = 136
    • Second Official Language = 0
  • Canadian work experience = 40

Subtotal – Core/Human capital factors = 406

Skill transferability factors

Education (to a maximum of 50 points)

  • A) Official Language proficiency and education = 25
  • B) Canadian work experience and education = 13

Subtotal = 38

Foreign work experience (to a maximum of 50 points)

  • A) Official Language proficiency and foreign work experience = 25
  • B) Canadian and foreign work experience = 13

Subtotal = 38

Certificate of qualification = 0

Subtotal Skill transferability factors = 76

Additional points (to a maximum of 600 points)

Provincial nomination = 0

Study in Canada = 30

Sibling in Canada = 0

French-language skills = 0

Subtotal Additional points = 30

Comprehensive Ranking System formula grand total = 512

TR to PR Pathway coming in April 2026

Posted on by ACME

A new pathway to permanent residency is set to launch in April 2026, allowing 33,000 foreign workers currently in Canada to apply for permanent residency.

What we know so far..

The program was originally announced in the federal budget in November, 2025. It was confirmed in the Federal Government’s Annual Immigration Levels Plan which was launched later in November 2025.

The program will be run over a two-year period, and will target in-demand sectors and also give priority to those living and working in rural areas.

What to prepare in advance…

Proof of language proficiency – We recommend at this time that potential applicants prepare their language tests

Proof of education – We recommend getting your education credential assessments (even if you only have high school).

Proof of background check – You can prepare police certificates which can be used in any application for the purposes of clearing security, providing that you do not travel back to your home country and stay in Canada.

Proof of travel history – Keep a travel log for the last ten years, and ensure that all trips are noted, as well as stamps in your passport

Proof of employment – For any PR application, it is required that reference letters be provided as well as additional evidence such as a T4 and employment contracts

Proof of identity – Required documents are your passport, marriage certificate, common-law statutory declaration, PR photos, birth certificates, adoption certificates

Translation – Don’t forget to ensure that all translations are provided for documentation that is not in English or French

Contact us today to book a consultation and prepare for new PR pathways coming into force!

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Ontario’s OINP overhaul coming in May 2026

Posted on by ACME

The province of Ontario is looking to overhaul the OINP (Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program) immigration system that has been in place since 2007. The following streams and categories will therefore be revoked and candidates that meet the current stream/category criteria will no longer be eligible in May 2026:

  • Foreign worker stream
  • International student with a job offer stream
  • In-Demand skills stream
  • Master’s Graduate stream
  • Ph.D graduate stream
  • Human capital priorities stream
  • French speaking skilled worker stream
  • Skilled Trades stream
  • Entrepreneur category

In terms of what types of programs will replace these streams and categories, that is uncertain at this time. However, some information can be gleaned from stakeholder meetings that the province of Ontario held over the past months. There is information available that points to a new program that will merge the job offer streams into one comprehensive stream, that will have two separate pathways, one for TEER 0-3 occupations and one for TEER 4-5 occupations. There is also additional information that points to targeted program pathways in healthcare, entrepreneurship, and exceptional talent. But again, there is no information available from the province of Ontario at this time and no normal announcements have been made in terms of the changes to come in May 2026.

The Ontario Immigration Act changes to come also codify the importance of all Employers registering their job offers through the new Employer Portal system. The Employer Portal allows Employers to register all job offers for the province and is an additional step that must be made prior to any candidate registering an expression of interest in the system. It is also important to note that the median wage would need to be met for all job offers registered in the system according to Job Bank median wages for that occupation and location, except for recent graduates who may not have the necessary work experience.

The province also is looking at more targeted draws and implementing language requirements, especially for any TEER 4 and TEER 5 occupations. Construction targeted draws and regional urgent needs will also be addressed in the new system. Exceptional talent stream will welcome people who don’t fall into traditional categories or occupations, but who are exceptionally gifted and have high level accomplishments in research, innovation, as well as the arts and sciences.

It will be interesting to see in the coming months the changes to the OINP in Ontario, and the new direction the province maps out in order to welcome new immigrants to their province and destination.

Contact ACME Visa Solutions today for more information on changes to Ontario or to book a consultation and get assessed for the province of Ontario. We’re here to help!

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I received a procedural fairness letter for CEC work experience! What can I do? 

Posted on by ACME

A person who self-represented on an application under Express Entry in the Canadian experience class (CEC) has received a procedural fairness letter because the officer is taking issue with the fact that he worked full time on a work permit and also engaged in full time studies simultaneously.

If we go back to the regulations, we can see that working full time while engaged in full time studies is not permitted under the Canadian experience class. In IRPR section 87.1(3)(a), it clearly states:

Application

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2),

  • (a) any period of employment during which the foreign national was engaged in full-time study shall not be included in calculating a period of work experience;

But how does IRCC measure “full time studies”? And what if the course was distance education or online, does the person need a valid study permit?

IRCC has issued instructions in policy (but not in the regulations) for what constitutes full time studies. Full time studies is defined as 15 hours per week under the Postgraduate Work Permit policy for obtaining a work permit upon completion of any program. As well, IRCC defers to the Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) in order to define what constitutes full time studies. If the DLI says that the course is delivered “full time” either in person or online, then the studies are considered full time studies and not part time studies.

In terms of obtaining status of “student” under the Act, and the requirement for a study permit, you typically do not need a study permit for distance education (delivered online) if you are studying from outside Canada or your program is six months or less inside Canada. However, if you are inside Canada and your program is six months or longer, you must have legal status (ie. visitor or worker) and a study permit is required for programs lasting longer than six months.

As the person who received the procedural fairness letter was studying full time online for longer than six months and claimed the education on the application, and also claimed full time work experience under the CEC, this has called into question the validity of his work experience. A possible remedy to the situation would be to have his Designated Learning Institution provide a letter to show that his online studies were only part time and not full time, if that is the case. Otherwise, the person is at risk for a refusal on their permanent residency application for not having proper status as a student if the course was longer than six months (even if it was delivered online) and he claimed full time work experience while studying full time. The applicant is at risk to lose both eligibility in the CEC program and points for work experience in the Comprehensive Ranking System of Express Entry for Canadian work experience.

It’s important to have the right status and follow the rules of any program under IRCC.

Don’t take a chance with your application! Contact Acme Visa Solutions today and schedule a consultation to go over your case, and ensure there are no errors prior to applying to IRCC.

Acme Visa Solutions handles the paperwork, so you focus on the future.

Professional. Reliable. Transparent.

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Quebec Skilled Worker Program – Skilled Worker Selection Program (SWSP)

Posted on by ACME

There are four main streams of expression of interest and then ap make up the SWSP Program – they are:

1) Highly qualified and specialized skills stream 

2) Intermediate and manual skills stream 

3) Regulated Profession stream 

4) Exceptional talent stream

Highly qualified and specialized skills stream 

This stream invites candidates that fall into the National Occupation Classification (NOC) TEER 0, 1 or 2. Must have 1 year of work experience in your profession, either in Quebec or abroad, and have French Language score of NCLC 7 or above. The education requirement for this category is at least a 1 year diploma program, as these occupations are considered high wage occupations and generally require studies.

Intermediate and manual skills stream 

This stream invites candidates that fall into the National Occupation Classification (NOC) TEER 3, 4 or 5. Must have 2 years of paid work experience, within the last 5 years, with at least 1 year of work experience obtained in Quebec. Experience outside of Quebec or abroad only counts if it is in the same TEER category as the experience obtained in Quebec. Must have French language NCLC level 5 or above. For education you must have a qualifying diploma or more in the TEER that you intend to work.

Regulated Profession stream

This stream is intended only for candidates who are listed on the list of Regulated Professions maintained by the Quebec Ministère de d’immigration. They must be authorized to practice their profession in Quebec. There is no education requirement or language requirement for this stream, as qualifications vary across the occupational categories. TEER 0,1,or 2 occupations require NCLC level 7 and TEER 3,4 and 5 require NCLC level 5 in french language. Must show proof that the candidate holds the following document within the last 5 years – An authorization to practice in Quebec or proof of partial recognition of training or a diploma or proof of full recognition of training or a diploma.

Exceptional Talent 

Similar to the Federal Self-employed category, Quebec encourages highly talented people in the sciences, arts or sport to apply to settle in Quebec. Must have 3 years of work experience in their area of talent. There are no education or language requirements for this stream. Must be an expert, or have high accomplishments and achievements per Quebec standards or as endorsed by an opinion obtained from one of the Minister’s designated partners in economic, research, sports or arts categories of interest.

Contact Acme Visa Solutions today for a consultation and to not miss your spot in the Quebec Skilled Worker Program – Skilled Worker Selection Program (SWSP)

Acme Visa Solutions handles the paperwork, so you focus on the future.

Professional. Reliable. Transparent.

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